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Gang of Amazons
Female |origin = Russia|affiliation = Each other|leader = Inessa Tarverdiyeva|pathology = Serial Killers Family Annihilators Cop Killers Robbers Killing Team|mo = Shooting Stabbing|victims = 20-30 killed 5 attempted|members = 4|type = Killer Family|time = 2007-2013|status = Deceased Incarcerated Alive |birth place = |death date = September 8, 2013 |death place = Aksay, Rostov Oblast, Russia |job = Former nursery teacher Dentist |operation = Rostov Oblast, Russia|signature = Committing shootings with shotguns|sentence = 21 years 16 years |capture = September 8, 2013|image = Gang of Amazons (1).jpg|charges = 10 counts of first-degree murder 1 count of forming a illegal armed gang|birth date = c.1967 c.1978 c.1988 c.2000 }} Inessa Tarverdiyeva, Roman Podkopaev, Viktoria Tarverdiyeva, and Anastasiya Podkopaev, known collectively as The Gang of Amazons, were a prolific Russian family killing team of serial killers. family annihilators, and robbers who committed a series of robberies-homicides from 2008 to 2013. Background Not much is known about the family member's pasts. What is known is that Inessa's first husband was Arzu Tarverdiyev. Viktoria was the daughter from Inessa's prior union with Arzu. Arzu later died under mysterious circumstances at a power grid he worked at. Roman was suspected of killing him in order to marry Inessa. Inessa and Roman later got married somewhere between 1988 to 1999. Inessa later gave birth to Anastasiya in 1999 to 2000. Roman was a certified dentist and Inessa was a former school kindergarten teacher but quit in 2007 for the robbing and murder business. Roman had a sister named Anastasiya Sinelnik who was married to Sergei Sinelnik, a police officer. Killings, Capture, and Incarceration The family committed their first known robbery homicide on February 17, 2008 in Aksay when they killed Mikhali Zlydnew, the chief of the Information Security Department of the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia, and his wife. They were non-fatally shot in their home, and then stabbed to death by the family. The family then stole coats, a jacket and a TV tuner. The family killed again on July 17, 2008, again in Aksay. The family shot a car off the federal highway. One occupant, Alexey Sazonov, was killed while the other occupant, Julia Vasilyeva, was injured but survived. The family stole a purse with a driver’s license, passport and a lady’s handbag. One of the women also shouted, "To strive for it!", during the robbery. The next murders occurred on March 10, 2009 in Novocherkassk. The family broke into the house of two people and killed them by stabbing them to death. The killers took from the victim's passports, laptop, camera, camcorder, women’s boots, coats and men’s jackets. The next killings happened on July 8, 2009. The family went up to the stalled car of Dmitry Chudakov, a Lieutenant SWAT member, and shot at the car. The bullets killed Dmitry, his wife Irina, and his son Sasha. The family then proceeded to stab Dmitry's daughter Veronika 37 times until she died. The family stole a camera, laptop, hairdryer and 43,500 rubies, while somehow leaving gold jewelry behind. This was the most nigh-profile crime committed by the family. The Chudakov massacre was attributed to Alex Serenko, who spent two years in jail. After Alex was exonerated of the crime, the massacre was then attributed to the Tsapkov gang. After ballistics confirmed that the shotgun used to kill the Chudakov family was used to kill three other people in the region, investigators later called the killers the "Amazon Gang", which was derived from a knife found close to one of the crime scenes with "My Favorite Amazon" written on the knife. The family invaded a home in Aksay sometime in 2010, with two teenage girls in the house. One girl was believed to be Inessa's goddaughter. The family restrained the girls and proceeded to torture them by gouging out their eyes. The family then stabbed them to death. The family committed their next crime on September 19, 2012 in Novocherkassk. The family killed two private security employees, Vladimir Mandrik and Vasiliy Kamforin, as they responded to an alarm signal at a dental clinic. The family invaded the house of Vadim Spoon in Aksay on November 29, 2012. Vadim then began to chase the family but was shot and killed. On March 16, 2013 in Aksay, the family killed Nikolai Kutsekon, a traffic inspector, after he heard his car alarm go off. When he saw suspicious people near his car, he tried to detain them, but was fatally shot. The next crime happened in the outskirts of Novocherkassk on April 8, 2013. The family shot at grocery store employees Yuri Statsenko and Nikolai Korsunov, whom both responded to an alarm that went off in the store. Korsunov was injured while Statsenko died at the hospital from his gunshot wounds. On April 24, 2013 in Aksay, the family killed Andrew Jurin, a traffic inspector, in his driveway when he was about to go to work. He was shot at point blank range. The family then attempted to break into his house, where his wife and child were hiding from the killers. The family left after the family could not get into the house. The family's last crimes occurred on September 8, 2013 in Aksay. The family broke into a private home and killed the occupants. The family stole some food from the house. Roman and Viktoria escaped via scooter. The two were noticed by two private security firm employees, Ivan Shakhovoi and Alexey Lagoda, who were passing by. Shakhovoi and Lagoda stopped Roman and Viktoria, whom they responded by immediately opening fire on Shakovoi and Lagoda. A shootout then processed to begin. At the end of the shootout, all the people involved were injured or dead. Shakahova and Roman were dead, while Lagoda and Viktoria were wounded. Viktoria was arrested by backup shortly after. Inessa and Anastasiya were detained by police at a campsite where the family stored a huge haul of weapons. The family were put in jail along with Roman's sister, Anastasiya Sinelnik, who was accused of storing stolen goods for the family, and Sergei Sinelnik, Anastasiya's husband, who was arrested on suspicion of helping the family evade the police by using his job as a policeman to gather information on the investigation on the family's crimes and to identify future targets for the family. Sergei later said in court how he felt pleased that his colleagues could not find the killers while he knew exactly who they were. On December 5, 2017, the Amazon Gang were sentenced for their crimes. Inessa got 21 years in a general regime colony, Viktoria got 16 years in a general regime colony, Anastasiya Sinelnik got 19 years in a general regime colony, and Sergei Sinelnik got 20 years in a strict regime colony. Anastasiya Podkopaev was not sentenced as she was a juvenile at the time of the crimes and her whereabouts are unknown. Modus Operandi The family usually targeted law enforcement and their families but they were willing to target anyone. The family would usually kill their victims by shooting, although a handful of victims were stabbed to death. The family would enter houses by the back door of windows and kill the occupants inside by either shooting them with a shotgun or stabbing them to death. The highway shootings were committed by shooting at the vehicles to force them off the road, rob the vehicles in any valuables, and shoot anyone still alive in the car, while Veronika Chudakov was stabbed 37 times to death in the Chudakov family massacre. The two teenage girls in the 2010 home invasion were also tortured by having their eyes gouged out before being stabbed to death. Known Victims *Rostov Oblast, Russia: **2008: ***February 17, Askay: Mikhali Zlydnew and his unnamed wife ***July 17, Aksay: The first federal highway shooting ****Alexey Sazonov ****Julia Vasilyeva **2009: ***March 10, Novocherkassk: Two unnamed victims ***July 8, Aksay: The Chudakov family ****Dmitry Chudakov ****Irina Chudakov ****Sasha Chudakov ****Veronika Chudakov **Unspecific date in 2010, Aksay: Two unnamed teenage girls **2012: ***September 19, Novocherkassk: Junior Sergeant Vladimir Mandrik and Sergeant Vasiliy Kamforin ***November 29, Novocherkassk: Vadim Spoon **2013: ***March 16, Aksay: Nikolai Kutsekon ***April 8, Novocherkassk: The grocery store shooting ****Yuri Statsenko ****Nikolai Korsunov ***April 24, Aksay: The Jurin family ****Andrew Jurin ****His unnamed wife ****His unnamed child ***September 8, Aksay: ****Two unnamed victims ****The police shootout: *****Ivan Shakhovoi *****Aleksey Lagoda *Note: The Gang of Amazons are also suspected of numerous robberies and homicides around the Rostov Oblast region of Russia. On Criminal Minds While the Amazons have yet to be directly mentioned or referenced on the show, they appear to have been an inspiration for the following unsubs: *Season Nine **The Andersons ("Mr. & Mrs. Anderson") - Both were married couples who were also prolific serial killers. Inessa and Judith were close in age and both Roman and Alan were thrill killers who killed with their wives. *Season Twelve **Zeke's Gang ("Seek and Destroy") - Both were criminal gangs who committed home invasion-homicides and both had mostly female members. Sources *Wikipedia's article on the Amazon Gang *The Sun's article on the Amazon Gang *Press Reader's article on the Amazon Gang *Weapo News' article on the Amazon Gang *Daily Mail's article on the Amazon Gang *Scared Yet's article on the Amazon Gang *Blog post about the Amazon Gang Category:Real People Category:Real World Criminals Category:Real Life Killers Category:Real Serial Killers Category:Real Foreign Criminals Category:Real Killing Teams Category:Real Life Child Killers Category:Real Life Cop Killers Category:Real Family Annihilators Category:Real Criminal Organizations Category:Unreferenced Criminals Category:Real Life Female Killers Category:Real Life Robbers